Collapsible shipping carton



Aug. 31, 1965 J. E. STOWE COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CARTON- 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 19, 1962 IN VENTOR.

Jae/(506,42 5704446.

1965 J. E. STOWE 3,203,613

COLLAPS IBLE SHIPPING CARTON Filed Nov. 19, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

MMMMYAM United States Patent 3,203,613 CQLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CARTON Jack E. Stowe, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to St. Regis Paper Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. '19, 1962, Ser. No. 238,625 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-16) This invention relates to cartons or boxes of improved construction. More particularly, it relates to cartons suitable for carrying heavy loads and capable of withstanding the stresses resulting from stacking several loaded cartons, one above the other, especially during shipping. It relates also to the blank from which the carton is constructed. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to cartons suitable as containers for freezing and shipping edible foods.

Despite many new designs, there is still a need for a carton which is capable of construction using a minimum of material While still having sufiicient strength to Withstand high stresses without undue loss of shipping space. Ideally, it should be constructed for easy handling so that it may be readily moved from one place to another. Moreover, the blanks should be easily prepared and adapted to be stacked one above the other in a collapsed condition for economical transportation from the point of manufacture to the point of use.

In recent years, large amounts of frozen food-stuffs, especially meats have been shipped under refrigeration in cartons of corrugated paperboard, cardboard, or like semimaterial. To expedite handling procedures, it has been the practice to pack the carton with meat in the unfrozen condition and to freeze it While in the carton. Unfortunately, paperboard is an excellent heat insulator and, therefore, it has been necessary to keep the cartons open during the freezing process. This requirement has limited the amount of foodstuffs which could be frozen in a given refrigerated area since an open carton obviously requires more space than a closed one. Moreover, the additional operation of closing the carton after freezing increases the handling time and expense.

In the past, attempts have been made to alleviate this problem by providing shipping boxes with holes in the sides. Unfortunately, the presence of holes has seriously decreased the strength of the box resulting in shipping accidents and losses. In one of its aspects, the present invention provides a box having holes in the walls for easy freezing of the contents. Because of its unique design. especially the end wall reinforcing panels, a box when constructed in accordance with this invention, will have sufiicient structural integrity to minimize shipping losses due to bursting of the container or other shipping accidents. Preferably, a box within the scope of this invention intended for use in connection with frozen foodstufis will be especially treated to Withstand moisture. The construction material may, for example, be impregnated with wax or other water resistant substance.

In view of the foregoing, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a box which will offer maximum protection against shipping stresses for the enclosed goods.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a box which is readily erected from a single blank to provide maximum shipping space while maintaining adequate strength to withstand heavy loads.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a paperboard or cardboard box in which meat or other foodstuffs may be packed and frozen without the necessity of leaving the box open during the freezing operation.

These and further objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof to be read in conjunction with the accompauying drawings in which like elements in the different views are identified by the same reference numerals:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view of the blank from which the box of FIG. 1 is constructed.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a tray type box in which the construction material is cut and scored so that the side walls are folded upward from the bottom wall to form a box body. FIG. 1 shows a box illustrating the concept of this invention, generally rep resented by the numeral 10. The box is constructed with bottom wall 11, back wall 12, front Wall 13, end Walls 14 and 15, and top wall 16. The top wall 16 is adapted to be swung so as to open or close the box. The end walls 14 and 15 are foldably connected to back wall 12 along score lines 14a and 15a, respectively. End wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18 are connected to opposite transverse edges of the front wall 13 along score lines :19 and 20, respectively. Each end wall reinforcing panel is provided with a top panel support represented by the numerals 21 and 22 connected along score lines 23 and 24, respectively.

Bottom panels 25 and 26 are provided integral with end walls 14 and 15, respectively, along score lines 27 and 28, the same being continuations of score line 29 between bottom wall 11 and back wall 12. Front wall 13 is integral with bottom wall .11 along score line 30.

Each of the end walls 14 and 15 is constructed with a top panel 31 and 32, respectively, connected along score lines 33 and 34 which are continuations of score line 35 connecting back wall 12 and top Wall 16. Top panels 31 and 32 are-foldably connected each to a top panel extension represented by the numerals 36 and 37 along score lines 38 and 39.

Each toppanel extension 36 and 37 is of sufiicient length so that the top edges 40 and 41 abut the bottom of the box substantially along score lines 27 and 28 respectively, when the top panel extensions are folded into the box. It Will be noted that each end wall construction is similar to an inverted right triangle where a top panel is the base of the triangle and a top panel extension is the hypotenuse. Each top panel extension is thus biased from a top panel towards an adjacent end wall of the assembled box.

As shown, each top panel extension is provided at its bottom edge with a tab represented by the numerals 42 and 43, respectively. These tabs are for cooperative engagement with slots 44 and 45 formed intermediate score lines 27 and 28 when the box blank, generally represented by numeral 46 in FIG. 3, is assembled to form a finished box. The tab and slot arrangement is an aid in providing structural rigidity of the assembled box, but is not essential to the invention.

example, a strip of adhesive tape. If present, it may be gripped between the front wall 13 and the top of panels 31 and 32 in the completely assembled and closed box. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, it may be stapled or otherwise fixed to the outer surface of the front wall 13.

The assembly of the box may be readily understood by reference to the figures, especially FIG. 3. In the first step, each of the bottom panels 25 and 26, the end walls 14 and 15, the top panels 31 and 32 and the top panel extensions 36 and 37 are folded out of the plane of the paper along score lines 14a and 15a, respectively. The bottom panels and 26 are then folded along score lines 27 and 28, respectively, so as to bring them into a plane perpendicular to score line 29. The back wall 12 is then folded out of the plane of the paper along score line 29. This movement brings the bottom panels 25 and 26 into surface contact with the bottom wall 11. End wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18 are folded along score lines 19 and 20 so that they are perpendicular to the front wall 13. The front wall 13 is folded along score line so as to bring the front and the back walls into oppositely disposed parallel relationships. This movement brings the end wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18 into the interior of the partially assembled box. The end wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18 are now in the interior of the box in surface contact with the end walls 14 and 15. The top panel supports 21 and 22 are next folded along score lines 23 and 24 into a plane parallel with the bottom wall 11. The top panels 31 and 32 and the top panel extensions 36 and 37 are then folded over the top panel supports 21 and 22 along their respective score lines 33, 34, 38 and 39 into the box so as to bring the tabs 42 and 43 into cooperative engagement with slots 44 and 45. This movement brings the top panel supports into position to underlie and support the top panels. The assembled box may then be filled if desired, and closed by folding top wall 16 along score line until the closure flap 47 is secured between front wall 13 and top panels 31 and 32. The closure flap 47 may also be folded down on the outside of front panel 13 and secured with staples, glue, steel or wire strapping.

It will be noted that this construction provides an especially strong box. The ends of the box are actually three panels in width. Each end is constructed with an end wall, an end wall reinforcing panel and a top panel extension. The top Wall 16 is supported by all three vertical panels and in addition is supported by top panels 31 and 32 and top panel supports 21 and 22.

It is an added feature of boxes within the scope of this invention that all exterior surfaces may be smooth in contour, so that a plurality of boxes may be shipped one above the other and one next to the other with the utilization of minimum shipping space.

Each end wall is formed with a handgrip aperture represented by numerals 49 and 50, the same being in registry with apertures 51 and 52 formed in end wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18. These handgrip apertures are located interiorly of the end Walls 14 and 15, preferably closer to the top than to the bottom and are of a design to facilitate handling of heavy loads while at the same time cushioning the hands. The handgrip apertures 49 and may be constructed with cut-out segments generally respresented by numerals 53 and 54 formed in each end wall 14 and 15 along cut lines 55 and 56 and folded into the box along top fold lines 57 and 58, respectively. It will be noted that the segments 53 and 54 fold through the apertures 51 and 52 of the end wall reinforcing panels 17 and 18. If desired, each of the segments 53 and 54 may be formed with extensions such as shown at 59 and 60 in FIG. 1, so that the over-all dimensions of each segment are greater than the over-all dimensions of each end wall reinforcing panel handgrip aperture. A segment of this design must be forced through the aperture and must be forced out in order to burst an end of the box. This design, therefore, aids in insuring the box against shipping injury. The design is not essential. In fact the whole segment may be omitted without seriously affecting the operation of the box. It does, however, cushion the hand when lifting the box.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, a box is shown in which the walls are formed with a plurality of vent holes generally represented by the numeral 61. As aforesaid, this construction is especially advantageous when the box is to be used for freezing and shipping foodstuffs since areas of heat exchange are provided whereby the contents of the box may be frozen without the necessity of opening the box. These vent holes are practical in boxes constructed in accordance with this invention since the boxes because of their unique design, are especially strong.

The box of this invention and the blank from which it is formed are constructed in accordance with standard procedure using ordinary box making equipment of the type well known in the art. No special or unusual equipment is necessary. Thus, the blank is cut and score lines formed with the ordinary machinery usually employed for this purpose. The blank may be formed into an assembled box manually or with the use of automatic means.

What has been described is a box or carton which can be simply fabricated from one blank. Since a plurality of reinforcing features are provided in the box construction, a box assembled in accordance with this invention has substantially improved structural qualities compared to ordinary boxes.

A box of this invention is preferably made of corrugated paperboard. If it is to be subjected to moisture, for example, in shipping frozen goods, it is preferably treated or impregnated with a moisture proofing medium such as a wax or a suitable synthetic resin such as thermosetting resin which in addition to imparting moisture resistance gives added strength.

While this invention has been particularly described with reference to specific embodiments, many apparent variations of the invention will become known to those skilled in the art after study of this disclosure. It is to be understood, therefore, that many changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A collapsible carton blank formed of a substantially rectangular piece of paperboard material and comprising top, back, bottom and front walls integrally attached in the order stated along side edge fold lines, each of said Walls being of equal length along said lines, said top and bottom walls being of mutually equal Width and said front and back walls being of mutually equal width but less than the width of said top and bottom walls, a pair of end wall reinforcing panels of equal width with and extending out from each end of said front wall and integrally attached thereto along end edge fold lines, a pair of bottom panels of equal width with and extending out from each end of said bottom wall but detached therefrom, a pair of end wall panels of equal width with and extending out from each end of said back wall panel and integrally attached thereto along end edge fold lines, a pair of top panels and top panel extensions, each top panel together with its associated top panel extension being of equal width with and extending out from each end of said top wall but detached therefrom, each of said panels extending out from their respective walls by a distance equal to the width of said top and bottom walls, said bottom panels being integrally attached to said end wall panels along fold lines which form extensions of the side edge fold line between said back and bottom walls, said top panels being integrally attached to said end wall panels along fold lines which form extensions of the side edge fold lines between said top wall and said back wall,

and said top panel extensions being integrally attached to said top panels along fold lines located such that When said top panels are bent at right angles to their respective and wall panels each top panel extension may be bent over to form the hypotenuse of a right triangle having its apex at the fold line connecting the end Wall panel with its associated bottom panel.

2. A carton blank as in claim 1 wherein said blank includes a pair of top panel supports each forming an extension of the end Wall reinforcing panels and integrally connected thereto along further fold lines opposite the edges of said end Wall reinforcing panels adjacent said bottom panels, each top panel extending out from said further fold lines by a distance equal to the width of said top panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, Examiner. 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE CARTON BLANK FORMED OF A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR PIECE OF PAPERBOARD MATERIAL AND COMPRISING TOP, BACK, BOTTOM AND FRONT WALLS INTEGRALLY ATTACHED IN THE ORDER STATED ALONG SIDE EDGE FOLD LINES, EACH OF SAID WALLS BEING OF EQUAL LENGTH ALONG SAID LINES, SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS BEING OF MUTUALLY EQUAL WIDTH AND SAID FRONT AND BACK WALLS BEING OF MUTUALLY EQUAL WIDTH AND SAID LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS, A PAIR OF END WALL REINFORCING PANELS OF EQUAL WIDTH WITH AND EXTENDING OUT FROM EACH END OF SAID FRON WALL AND INGRALLY ATTACHED THERETO ALONG END EDGE FOLD LINES, A PAIR OF BOTTOM PANELS OF EQUAL WIDTH WITH AND EXTENDING OUT FROM EACH END OF SAID BOTTOM WALL BUT DETACHED THEREFROM, A PAIR OF END WALL PANELS OF EQUAL WIDTH WITH AND EXTENDING OUT FROM EACH END OF SAID BACK WALL PANEL AND INTEGRALLY ATTACHED THERETO ALONG END EDGE FOLD LINES, A PAIR OF TOP PANELS AND TOP PANEL EXTENSIONS, EACH TOP PANEL TOGETHER WITH ITS ASSOCIATED TOP PANEL EXTENSION BEING OF EQUAL WIDTH WITH AND EXTENDING OUT FROM EACH END OF SAID TOP WALL BUT DETACHED THEREFROM, EACH OF SAID PANELS EXTENDING OUT FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE WALLS BY A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS, 